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GOP Congressman Apologizes for Calling Obama 'Boy'

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April 14, 2008 4:54 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: A Republican House member Monday sent a letter of apology to Sen. Barack Obama, after calling him "boy" and comparing him to a "snake oil salesman" in attacking his national security credentials at a weekend fund-raising dinner in Kentucky.

According to a Lexington Herald-Leader blog item, Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky., said Saturday that he had recently  participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama, and said that exercise showed that Obama can't be trusted to make difficult decisions. 

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

The Obama campaign slammed the comments.

"It's hard to tell what is more outrageous -- Representative Davis' condescending and personal attack, or his absurd and offensive claim that Barack Obama is not prepared to defend America," said Bill Burton, an Obama campaign spokesman.

Davis and his office did not dispute the accuracy of the quote. In his letter to Obama, Davis, a former Army ranger first elected to Congress in 2004, wrote that he "used a poor choice of words when discussing the national security positions of the Presidential candidates."

"My poor choice of words is regrettable and was in no way meant to impugn you or the your integrity," Davis wrote. "I offer my sincere apology to you and ask for your forgiveness."

According to a Davis spokesman, Davis hand-delivered the letter to Obama's Senate office after returning to Washington on Monday.

April 14, 2008 in Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (522)

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Obama is not a boy

Obama is god.

Posted by: Brian | Apr 14, 2008 5:23:07 PM

HEY LIZ-

Well what if Hillary said that the reason black men are in and out of jail is because of their own actions. What is she said that the reason their are enormous amount of fatherless black children in America, is because of their own actions. Same for single mothers, drugs, etc. etc. etc..

I bet you don't like the truth now.

Posted by: Brian | Apr 14, 2008 5:26:36 PM

Jenna, Hill the Bosnian General is a drunk girl, a day dreamer and a dangerous alcoholic who cannot be trusted at all. God bless America and God bless Obama. OBAMA08.

Posted by: BKMC | Apr 14, 2008 5:27:41 PM

"Obama you lost a supprter. You should not have responded. By responding you showed how weak you are." - says hillary clinton supprters.

Their judgement is all there to see in their posts.

Posted by: sean | Apr 14, 2008 5:29:24 PM

Racist white Americans coming in these blogs everyday bashing Obama. Your days are numbered. This is the last year bigotry will be tolerated in this country. White supremacy will soon be over.

Posted by: Kevin | Apr 14, 2008 5:29:27 PM

Kris

Link to the AP story please?

Posted by: Kevin | Apr 14, 2008 5:31:15 PM

Wow, I can't believe he apologized for that. If Obama can't make a sound decision in the situation-room in a SIMULATION, I sure wouldn't like him to be my Commander-in-Chief and issuing orders to me. He's right, that boy's finger doesn't need to be on the button.

Posted by: Mike | Apr 14, 2008 5:31:37 PM

Brian,

That's a lot of 'if's.

It's obvious you've never worked in a homeless or domestic violence shelter, or even given of your time to the less fortunate. Your post is nothing more than opinion that is NOT based on fact.

Let's see - 'IF' frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their bums every time they hopped.

How's that for truth?

Posted by: GrandmaCDA | Apr 14, 2008 5:32:11 PM

From Webster's Dictionary - Elite: the best or most powerful of anything considered collectively, especially of a group or class of persons. Elitist: practice of or belief in rule by an elite.

Has nothing to do with money - everything to do with feeling superior, thereby Hillary saying the American people do not need a President who looks down on them. People of any class can look down on others and feel they are superior for many reasons, usually because they think differently from themselves. Does this sound familiar?

Posted by: Bon53 | Apr 14, 2008 5:32:53 PM

This room just turned decidedly race oriented. What oppression? For years we've heard black people complain about it, yet they've got the same opportunities white people do, and at times, because of policies for diversity, even better ones. No, that oppressed people argument has long since run its course, and to point out a fact, in the modern day black people are entirely more racist than white people of this generation.

Posted by: Mike | Apr 14, 2008 5:35:14 PM

Mike

Do you know the historical meaning of a white man calling a black man "boy'? Or are you one of thsoe illiterate Republicans voting on single issues like guns and God?

Posted by: Kevin | Apr 14, 2008 5:35:47 PM

Mike

You're a moron. Have to been to inner-city schools in this country? Blue collar bastards complain abotu politicians not knowing their culture and brand such politicians elitist. But bastards like you say racial discrimination is over meanwhile our inner cities are rotten to the core due to government neglect, bad teachers, poor infrastructure, and blacks serve stiffer sentences than whites for comparable crimes. I can go into more detail, but why educate a buffoon like you?

Posted by: Kevin | Apr 14, 2008 5:38:36 PM

Actually, Brian is correct to make those points. The only stipulation being that it doesn't apply only to black people. What does apply, however, is the fact that most major cities where the black population is most dense, there are more occurrences of these incidents.

Posted by: Mike | Apr 14, 2008 5:39:20 PM

Step away from calling a black man "boy". It is what white rcist called black men for centuries to demean the emasculate. I assume you Obama haters would not want to go back to those days. Leave your attacks above the belt. PLEASE

Posted by: Stacey | Apr 14, 2008 5:40:24 PM

After the obnoxious comments Obama, his wife and his preacher have said, "boy" is nothing!

Posted by: Mary | Apr 14, 2008 5:41:25 PM

Why are some Americans so full of vile?

Posted by: akrob | Apr 14, 2008 5:42:15 PM

Why are some Americans so full of vile?

Posted by: akrob | Apr 14, 2008 5:42:16 PM

See now it's people like you who take what somebody says completely out of context, and turn it into a racial issue. He wasn't saying "boy" as a racial slur, it was indicative of his age. I know very well what it means. And the name-calling, not necessary. You could perhaps make your point without reverting to childish slander. Our core isn't rotten. What makes those cities so bad is the population that lives in them...be it white, black, mexican, or anyone else. No, you can't blame the government for everything, and people seldom take responsibility for their own failures to affect positive change when that is what they "desire".

Posted by: Mike | Apr 14, 2008 5:43:14 PM

chickens coming home to roost is all.

Posted by: al | Apr 14, 2008 5:43:30 PM

Mike

How were you raised? Did your parents provide you with comfort and the necessities to be succesful in life? I know i was provided with these things. I was raised with middle-class values and had all the advantage in the world. More than 80% of black kids are raised in poverty and are exposed to inner-city culture riddled with crime and neglect and discrimination. Do you really think that in such circumstances, these black kids have the same chance as you and me? Do you think that the consequences of centuries of abuse and institutionalized discrimination against blacks will be erased in just 40 years since the end of segregation? The parents of some of the young black kids you see today were raised in a segregated America. Do you know how many generations it takes to erase such abuse and the scars they leave behind?

Posted by: Kevin | Apr 14, 2008 5:43:34 PM

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